Respectfully, there's no such thing as "always the best plan." Half of all lawyers graduated in the bottom 50% of their class. Far, far fewer than half have ever defended a legitimately innocent person in a genuine lethal force self-defense case. Only a handful have ever done it more than once. And 0 got more than a 90-min discussion of self-defense law in law school.
Just because a lawyer says something doesn't mean they know what they're talking about.
Always STFU is great advice when you know in advance that all your clients are guilty because, well, they're criminals. Of course that's the advice from internet lawyers whose career is spent defending criminals.
But frankly, the random lawyer who has made his living defending drug dealers and murderers is not the lawyer I want on my side. I want a lawyer who actually understands self-defense law, preferably one who has actually succeeded in a lethal force case.
So, if you're a drug dealer/pedophile/wife beater/etc yes, absolutely STFU. You're guilty and nothing you say is gonna help. But if you're in a legitimate self-defense scenario you may benefit from spending some time beforehand considering, studying and thinking about what experienced self-defense law experts have to say - and it is more nuanced than a universal/unilateral STFU.
In addition, identify a competent self-defense lawyer in advance. Make them your lawyer. Then talk with *your* lawyer about what *you* should do if ever in such a situation. Don't get legal advice over the internet.
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